The Twelve Days of Christmas
by natashasurgirl
Summary: When Serena pulled Darien's name from the Santa hat, she felt like Doom's Day was at her door. The man was insufferable, mean, and IMPOSSIBLE to shop for. How would she ever be able to find the perfect gift for her worst nightmare? With 12 days left until Christmas, at least she'll get plenty of chances to try!
1. Santa's Hat

_This story is a special Christmas Gift to my good friend, Princess Selina. Thank you for being such an inspiration and great friend for all this time! xoxo -Natasha_

**The Twelve Days Of Christmas**

_When Serena pulled Darien's name from the Santa hat, she felt like Doom's Day was at her door. The man was insufferable, mean, and IMPOSSIBLE to shop for. How would she ever be able to find the perfect gift for her worst nightmare? With 12 days left until Christmas, at least she'll get plenty of chances to try! _

**Chapter 1**

White snow flurried down the cement sidewalks outside the Crown Fruit Parlor and Arcade windows. The frost covered shoulders and hats on the citizens of Tokyo, Japan was a classic sign that Christmas would be arriving soon enough. Inside the arcade, a group of teenage girls huddled together, wearing warm sweaters, mittens, and matching winter hats. The group of course consisted of four girls, all of whom were completely different from one another.

For starters, the blue haired beauty wearing her oversized glasses dug her nose deep into her calculus textbook, proving she couldn't have been more different from the rest of the girls. Being obsessed with extra credit assignments and college exams, the meek girl would normally blend into the arcade booth and go unnoticed.

Sitting next to Amy, Lita, who overshadowed her in height, talked passionately about how to mix your own chamomile teas with fresh flowers and herbs to get a distinct flavor. Specifically lavender. The domestic goddess dreamed of finding her Prince Charming, getting married, and opening up her very own flower shop.

Raye, who was listening to her friend in great earnest, considered which blend would ensure the most relaxation for a peaceful meditation. Meditating was the best time for her to forget about all her chores as a shrine priestess and unwind.

Finally, filled with nothing but thoughts about candy canes, twinkling lights, and carolling, sat the bubbly blonde, Serena. Christmas was all she could think about, and her eyes darted from the tinsel hanging about the windows, to the wreaths on the walls, until they landed on the Christmas tree next to the bar decorated in paper angels.

The built up excitement burst out of the young teen within seconds, "How do we want to do Christmas this year you guys?!"

The girls paused, surprised by Serena's blatant and rude interruption of their conversation. Finally, Raye answered for the group, "Christmas is twelve days away, Serena!"

"Exactly!" Serena said, pointing her finger in the air. "We only have twelve days until we exchange the perfect gifts for the wonderful people in our lives. It's quite a dilemma!"

Lita slapped a hand to her forehead. "Oh geez."

"You are silly, Serena." Amy shook her head, chuckling to herself. She turned to the next page of her textbook, immersing herself in another equation formula.

Serena knew they wouldn't be as enthusiastic as she was. As the girls stared at her, Serena jumped out of her spot, twirling in a circle around the room. She stretched her arms out as she spun, taking in all the holiday cheer she felt from the decorations alone. Singing 'Baby, It's Cold Outside' quietly to herself, she didn't hear as a certain male she strongly disliked approached.

"What's gotten into Meatball Head?" Darien asked Raye, tilting his head towards the go lucky girl. "Did she inhale spiked eggnog or something?"

Raye smirked. Serena whipped her head towards the college student who walked up beside her, looking at her as if she were from the Looney Toons.

"It's Christmas time, Jerk! I'm just appreciating Andrew's beautiful decorations!"

Darien raised his brow at her quizzically. "By dancing around as if in a drunken stupor?"

Serena froze, then stomped up to the man. She shoved her finger at his chest yelling, "That's how you enjoy the holidays, which you would know if you actually had this thing called a heart!"

"If having a heart means looking like a complete moron, then I don't think I want one."

"Ugh! Darien, you're improbable"

Darien grinned at her. "You mean impossible, I am very likely."

"Shut up!" Serena was exasperated by the man in front of her. She glared at him, ignoring how his eyes sparkled as he smiled down at her.

Darien loved these fights. He loved to see Serena's nose flare up and her eyes grow bigger than they usually were. Her expressions were priceless, and all because of him.

But then his best friend, the son of the Arcade owner strolled up beside him. Darien tried to hide his disappointment when Serena's attention was diverted by Andrew, who she all but threw herself at.

"Hey, Andrew!" Serena squealed happily. She hugged the tall, lanky, young man. Then she turned to face everybody. "So, what if we did Secret Santa this year? To be honest, my allowance is a little too lean this year to shop for everybody."

Lita nodded her head, agreeing. "The utilities _are_ pretty high this month."

"Sure." Raye said, turning to Amy. "What do you think, Ames?"

Amy merely gave a thumbs up, refusing to lift her eyes from her book. If she finished this book by the end of the day, she'd be a whole semester ahead, if not more!

Darien and Andrew glanced at each other. With silent agreement between them, Andrew took the red santa hat off his head. He was no better than Serena when it came to Christmas. "Sure, let's write our names, and get started!"

Within a few minutes, everyone had pulled a name from Andrew's hat. Serena furrowed her eyebrows as she read the name on the white stock paper.

Darien Shields.

'Crap!' She thought to herself. 'What am I supposed to do for _him?_'

Maybe she could trade. She raised her eyes, looking at the others. Obviously she couldn't trade with Darien, that would be incredibly mean. No matter how much of a jerk he was to her, she wouldn't do something like that to him. Serena glanced at the girls, but they were all excited and talking about possible stores to shop at for their secret giftees. That left Andrew.

"Hey, Serena! Wanna go shopping with us for our giftees?" Raye asked, waving a hand at Serena. She pulled the purple sleeves of her winter jacket over her red sweater. "We were gonna go to the mall."

Serena frowned. "Thanks, but I'll catch up with you later."

"See you later, Serena!" Amy wished Serena farewell as she and the girls left through the doors, letting the christmas bells hung from the top jingle behind them.

"So, who's your secret giftee, Meatball Head?" Darien asked, his curiosity getting the best of him. 'Probably Andrew,' he thought to himself. The idea made his heart sink.

Serena sat next to him at the bar, silently letting her annoyance towards him go. "Someone worth giving a gift to."

"So, probably not me then?"

"Definitely not."

"Well, if it's not me, then you can tell me who it is, right?"

Andrew interrupted, "That's completely against the rules, Darien!"

Darien rolled his eyes. Andrew was always such a stickler for the rules. He looked down at his piece of stock paper, his lips curving into a small smile as he read Serena's name. Already, he had the perfect gift idea in mind.

"Anyways, I gotta go. Gotta get out there before the stores get clogged up."

Andrew waved goodbye. "Have fun, Darien!"

"Yeah, have fun, Jerkwad!"

Darien turned, grinning wickedly at Serena. "I will, Meatball Head."

Andrew shook his head at the two of them. They were so obviously courting each other with insults. If only they realized it and just got together.

The cold snow fluttered into the arcade through the doors as Darien walked out. The bells jingled after him, and Serena turned to Andrew, slamming Darien's name on the counter.

"Trade me!"

Andrew looked at the girl sitting in front of him like she was crazy. "Why?"

Serena moaned into her hands. "I couldn't possibly find the perfect gift for Darien! He's the spawn of all evil!"

Andrew laughed. "Darien isn't that bad!"

"Just trade me so then I can shop for a human being!" Serena protested, annoyed by Andrew's lack of haste.

"Serena, I can't! I got Lita!" Andrew exclaimed, showing her his card. Lita's name was scrawled across the page in perfect cursive with hand drawn flowers surrounding it. "This is my chance to show her how thoughtful I am."

"Y-you like Lita?" Serena asked, her face falling. All the months she had spent crushing on Andrew was wasted.

"Well, you can't tell anyone, but yeah." Andrew placed a reassuring hand on Serena's shoulder. "Look, I know Darien's a little rough around the edges, but I know that _you_ can find the perfect gift for him. There's only one thing he wants."

"Yeah? What's that?" Serena didn't even give Andrew a chance to answer. "He probably needs a heater so he can warm up his icy heart."

Andrew winced for Darien's benefit. "Come on, don't be like that. If you got to know Darien, you'd know he's a pretty great guy."

"I'll just rely on your judgement without going near him."

"Serena, it's Christmas time." He gave Serena a knowing look. "As true lovers of Christmas, we can never half ass our gifts, right?"

"But Annnnnnndreeeeeeew!" Serena whined, intentionally hitting her forehead on the bar table.

"No buts, Sere. You know the rules, meaningful gifts only!"

Serena glared at the waiter, purposely tapping her fingers out of rhythm on the counter to annoy him. When Andrew didn't sway, she groaned. "Fine."

There were twelve days until Christmas. Surely she could find _something _meaningful to give to the man who tormented her everyday, right?

_Please review! =) -Natasha_


	2. Coffee

_Happy Holidays, everyone! I'm extremely excited for Christmas this year, so to celebrate, I really wanted to write a fun and enjoyable Christmas story! While this story is written as a Christmas surprise to everyone, it is specifically dedicated to my friend, Princess Selina. Hugs to all!- Natasha_

**Chapter 2**

Serena finished coloring in the last red stripe on the final candy on her homemade border. The square and coaster sized paper looked absolutely festive with hand drawn candy canes and Christmas presents surrounded by evergreen.

'Yep!' Serena thought to herself, 'I can definitely become a manga artist with this raw talent!'

Humming to herself, Serena used a glue stick to stick another piece of paper to the middle of her decorated one.

"It's perfect!" She exclaimed, "Darien better like my present, I didn't go to all this trouble for nothing!"

She reached for her hole punch and Christmas themed ribbons. She punched a hole in the corner, and tied a huge bow covered in mistletoe and satin white onto the card. It was perfect.

Luna, a black cat who happened to be Serena's talking companion, glanced at the girl from her bed. She dug herself deeper into Serena's pink pillow, and said, "I hope that it's your math homework."

Serena rolled her eyes. "You don't give people homework for a Christmas present!"

Luna rebutted, "I'm sure your mom and dad would appreciate it."

" Anyways…" Serena trailed off, dismissing Luna. She picked up her piece of art, glancing it over one more time before letting pride fill her chest. "I better go to the arcade and drop it off."

If Darien didn't appreciate this, she was going to be very annoyed.

Taking her gift with her, Serena raced down the steps of the stairway, nearly tripping on the last two. She caught herself with a gasp, but then after quickly recovering had no qualms about running out the front door at the speed of light. If this was going to be a surprise, she needed to get there before Darien, and everyone knew if she waited until morning that would never happen.

There was no stopping her beaming when Serena passed a group of boys building a snowman. They were adding rocks to the frosty man's smile when she noticed the garlands wrapped around the street's light posts. 'The pine cones covered in glitter are just the right touch,' She thought to herself. The fact that everyone seemed to be getting ready for Christmas in the Juuban District made excitement bubble up in her stomach. If only the parties and plays and caroling would start!

When Serena arrived at the arcade, she listened to the music of the golden bells as she opened the doors. She walked right up to Andrew, who just happened to be finished delivering milkshakes to a chattering couple.

"Andrew!" She said, scanning the room for an all too familiar ugly, green blazer. After acknowledging the coast was clear, Serena shoved her hand into Andrew's, dropping enough paper bills to buy one of Darien's foul tasting coffees. "A drink on me for the next time Jerkface comes in!"

Andrew nodded, walking behind the counter to put the money in his cash register. When Serena placed her homemade card on the counter, Andrew tied it to a mug so he wouldn't forget. "That's the spirit, Serena! But I really hope coffee isn't your sentimental gift."

Serena shook her head no. "I'm going to try and do something nice for him everyday until Christmas… Even if it means just trying to ignore his rude comments! Honestly, I don't know enough about him to make a big meaningful purchase."

Andrew smiled. If Serena really stuck to the whole being nice thing, maybe she would find something about Darien that she did like. He knew all about how Darien secretly 'liked' Serena.

"You know, I know plenty about Darien. He is my best friend after all!"

"Like what?" Serena asked, leaning in to hear more. She was surprised by how she was interested at all with anything to do with the guy who had cruelly nicknamed her Meatball Head. Maybe Christmas Miracles existed after all.

Andrew was thankful she went along like he had hoped. "Well, for starters, did you know he likes roses?"

Serena's pupils dilated for a second. She was reminded of someone else she knew who liked roses. And top hats. "You don't say?"

"Maybe it's something nice you can do for him," Suggested Andrew at her peaked interest. "I don't think he'll expect it."

"Maybe," Serena said thoughtfully, wondering how she would deliver such a gift to Darien without him realizing who it was from. If all the gifts were at the arcade, he would probably guess it was her. Who else spent as much time at the arcade as Darien and Serena? "Anyways, I gotta go home for dinner. Mom will throw a cow if I'm late!"

Andrew chuckled. "Bye, Serena!"

"Bye, Andy!" With her farewell, Serena started her dash home. There was a lot for her to think about on the way back. She was determined to make Darien's Christmas nice, even if he was the most evil person since Nephlite.

Okay… so maybe that was an exaggeration, but when it came to Darien, Serena couldn't help herself. He stirred emotions in her that she couldn't quite explain. It enraged her at times that she couldn't process her feelings towards him properly. Hate? No, that wasn't it.

There was only one thing she knew for sure: Darien Shields drove her crazy.

…

The apartment felt bare and empty to Darien when he awoke early in the morning. He looked around his living room and sighed. The air was cold. The furniture was dull and unwelcoming. He walked into the kitchen, which seemed as lonely as everything else, and reached for his coffee bean grinder. If he had to be all alone whenever he was home, Darien at least wanted to have his favorite drink.

It wasn't long before he changed his mind, returning the grinder back to it's proper place on the kitchen counter.

How could he spend another Christmas all alone? He had no family to visit, and his neighbors liked to pretend they had no neighbors. Andrew always had his own parties to go to with his family. Darien wouldn't even consider intruding on anyone else's family gatherings, regardless of Andrew's countless invitations each year.

Still, he hated being alone during the holidays. It made Darien think of his parents and how he didn't remember anything about them.

All Darien wanted to do was crawl back in his bed and go to sleep. He didn't want to think about how lonely he felt or how he didn't want to face the morning.

But then he thought of Serena, and suddenly all those feelings melted away. If he left soon, maybe he'd run into his verbal sparring partner, causing her to be late to school again. She always left with only a couple minutes to spare before the school bell would ring. He'd get see her nose scrunch up at one of his insults, and then he'd get to laugh at her angry face that was too adorable for words. Just the thought had Darien grinning from ear to ear.

It didn't take very long for Darien to put on his winter attire. Then he was out the door.

…

Upon entering the arcade, Darien was already disappointed. He'd been ran late by the crowds that gathered outside for a huge toy sale across the street. The moms looking for the best deals had clogged up the streets and cross lights. Darien was positive that he'd seen Serena's meatball hair buns when he was surrounded by strollers and crying infants a couple blocks back, but she'd been several crosswalks too far ahead.

Begrudgingly, Darien sat in his usual stool at the bar, sulking in his misery. Andrew placed a mug full of steaming dark liquid in front of the sullen man, not saying a word. His friend was used to Darien's less than stellar mornings, and knew that silence was Darien's preferred method of dealing with them.

Darien looked at the cup within his reach, surprised by the large ribbon and artwork attached to the handle. He observed the border, a colorful wreath bountiful with candies and small gift boxes. In the middle of the card was a very short typed note in an italic and cursive font:

_Have a drink on me!_

_-Your Secret Santa_

"Thanks, Andrew." Darien gratefully sipped from his gifted beverage, savoring the rich taste. It was just the pick me up he needed. "So, do I get a coffee everyday until Christmas, or is this really all I'm getting?"

Andrew snorted. "Who says it's from me?"

"Oh, come on! As if it could be anyone else, who else decorates every last thing for Christmas? I mean, Look at this place!"

He motioned to the plastic ornaments and paper snowflakes hanging from the ceiling.

"The windows look as if they've endured thirty cans of fake snow."

The spray painted snowflakes, cottages, and christmas trees _were_ pretty thick this year.

"Not to mention your fake presents everywhere!"

Okay, so, maybe Andrew _did_ go to the trouble of wrapping tiny squares of styrofoam this year in multiple sizes. The bows and ribbons he tied to them did give them that extra touch, and maybe he _did_ put them on fancy platters perfectly arranged for _every_ booth as center pieces. But what did that matter?

"I fail to see your point here." Andrew said, his cheeks turning a little pink. "Besides, I'm not the only one who loves Christmas this much."

Darien shook his head. "But Serena didn't pull my name. So, that leaves you, the male Martha Stewart of the Furuhata family, as my Secret Santa."

"Oh, come on!" Andrew protested, not even bothering to refute Darien's Martha Stewart comment. "It could be any of the girls! Don't try and spoil the whole point of Secret Santa!"

"Okay, okay." Darien apologized sarcastically. "I'm sorry, Secret Santa!"

"Gah!"

Andrew threw his hands in the air, muttering to himself about Darien's stubbornness, leaving to wait on less frustrating customers.

Darien laughed into his coffee, picking up a stranded newspaper another patron had left behind. As he turned to the Politics section, his friend walked past him in annoyance.

"You're impossible, Darien!"

Darien smirked. "Or as Meatball Head would say, improbable!"

_Thank you to everyone who R&R the last chapter! Please R&R this chapter and let me know what you thought!- Natasha_


	3. Rose

_I am loving writing this story so so much! I love these kinds of stories because I can let all my silliness out! I can only hope that you guys enjoy as I set my inner child loose on these pages…-Natasha_

**Chapter 3**

It was too hard for her to make a decision. Sure, she knew what he liked, but things were more complicated than that. If he liked roses then perhaps he knew the meaning of the colors. If she picked the wrong color by just choosing what she thought looked prettiest, then he might get the idea that his Secret Santa had a crush on him.

But she didn't.

Standing in front of the glass cases filled with rose and lily bouquets, Serena pondered her choices. The sweet tune of "Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas" played in the background of the floral shop. Frank Sinatra's deep voice filled her ears, and Serena would have sang along if it wasn't for the fact that she was so absorbed in her task.

"Buying a bouquet is like I'm asking him out." Serena shuddered at the idea. As if she would ever want to date that egotistical pig! No way! Not that Darien would ever have an interest in her anyways. He was a college student. He was tall, muscular, and the way he smiled at her when he was picking on her was so…perfect.

Now where did all that come from?

She really didn't like him!

Serena shook the disturbing image from her mind. She wished she could take some Purell and really clean out whatever disgusting parasite had infiltrated her brain and left such vulgar thoughts there. However, that wasn't possible. But there probably was a parasite. That was the only reasonable explanation Serena could think of for her finding Darien even the slightest bit attractive.

"One rose." Serena thought aloud. "Black and dying like the cavity where his heart used to be. That's all he'll get from me!"

She opened the sliding glass doors, reaching for the vase filled with roses of a variety of different colors. She frowned. There were no black ones like the cavity where his heart used to be.

While the color purple was nice, and the light pink ones were sweet smelling, Serena found herself drawn to the romantic red roses. They were deep crimson and fully blossomed like Tuxedo Mask's sharp edged ones.

Darien would never think anything of it. Why would he? They did hate each other's guts after all. That was why they fought all the time, wasn't it? Even if he did know the meaning of the flowers, Darien should know better than to think her gifts were anything but obligatory.

Serena picked up the single red rose, fighting back a sheepish grin. As she paid the few dollars required to leave the store with her gift, Serena couldn't help but imagine how surprised Darien would be when he saw it. She could picture him confused and startled at what normally could be considered a romantic gesture.

"The joke's on him." Serena laughed wickedly.

Hopefully he wouldn't realize how she'd stalked him home the night before to find out where he lived. Yeah, Darien might not make the connection on Christmas day. That would be best.

She didn't need him alerting the authorities after all!

…

Darien stood in the elevator of his apartment, grateful to almost be home. The history class was boring today, as much as Darien hated to admit it. Usually, the studious man found himself enthralled by the lectures. For some reason though, the class got stuck with a substitute teacher. That substitute teacher insisted on talking about her grandchildren for the entire hour as if their lives were going to be on the final exam that year, and not the important historical events of Japan. To say he was glad when that lesson was over would be the understatement of a lifetime!

When the elevator stopped at his floor, Darien dragged his tired body from the wall, pushing himself back up with his arm. He still felt sleepy from the lecture. When a flash of red caught his eye from his apartment door, he blinked.

"Is that what I think it is?" Darien whispered to himself.

Jolted awake by the long stemmed rose taped to his door, Darien half jogged towards the entrance. He ripped the tape off the metal surface, careful not to pierce his fingers as he picked up the flower by it's thorny stem.

Darien almost didn't see the folded up piece of paper that fluttered to the floor next to his pointed shoe.

He bent over to pick up the notebook paper, unfolding it. Glued to the ripped paper was another one, with words typed in the oh so annoying Comic Sans font.

_"A rose from one friend to another. _

_Nothing more. _

_-Your Secret Santa"_

"Is Andrew... courting me?" Darien asked the empty hallway, baffled. His eyes bugged out at the idea.

Fumbling with his keys, Darien took a couple of tries to slip the right key in the lock. He twisted the key left, pushing himself into the hallway of his apartment. He hurried through the entryway, trying to keep his composure, dropping the red rose on the dining room table along with his school bag and jacket.

The black phone jacked up to his dining room wall seemed like a godsend. He had to tell Andrew to stop his flirtatious advances. Because he was interested in someone else. Well, not that he was interested in someone else, it's not as if there was someone specific he had his eye on. He just didn't have his eyes set on Andrew!

But he didn't want to break the poor guy's heart. They were best friends after all.

This was a delicate situation.

Still unsure of how he was going to word his rejection of Andrew's undying love, Darien proceeded to dial his friend's number anyways.

The ringtone was insufferable as he contemplated his choice of words.

"Hello? Andrew speaking!" Andrew didn't seem to have a care in the world. 'And why would he?' Darien thought to himself, 'Today is his day off."

"Look Andrew, I find you attractive too, but not in a 'I want to love you and get married kind of way'. So, I'm sorry, we can still be friends, but you cannot buy me roses anymore!" The words came out in one long breath, and so when Darien finished, he gasped for air.

In his own apartment, Andrew was trying desperately to keep his soda from streaming through his nose. He burst into laughter, but only after the all too familiar bubbling went through a nose hole. Thankfully no liquid came out, but it still burned. He choked, trying to still swallow his drink in the midst of it all.

The blonde couldn't stop coughing as he asked, "Who is this?"

A pause came from Darien's side of the line, and then shortly after, an awkward, "Umm…"

Andrew wiped tears from his eyes. His face was now covered in red blotches from coughing so hard on his coca cola. "I haven't bought flowers for anyone since Rita and I broke up. So, if this is who I think it is, stop trying to ruin Secret Santa!"

"I'm not trying to ruin anything!"

The phone connection died in Andrew's ear at Darien's last statement. Andrew slapped the couch armchair, laughing once more. "Well, this is escalating quickly…"

Meanwhile, Darien was still trying to figure out who his Secret Santa might be. It just had to be Andrew. He was the only one out of everyone who picked names who knew where Darien lived. Like Serena and the girls would ever have his address.

Darien had a sudden epiphany. Raye _did_ meet him here for a date that one time.

"Of course! Raye's my Secret Santa!"

_Oh, I'm loving this so much! I hope you all are too! What do you think so far? Is Darien just a little too obsessed with his possible gift giver? Is he in fact ruining Secret Santa by trying to find out who it is? Let me know! -Natasha_


	4. Peppermint Bark

_In reality there is only 11 days left until Christmas. Which is awesome because that means this story should be done before Christmas Eve! A completed story for Christmas! How cool is that? -Natasha_

**Chapter 4**

Darien's actual Secret Santa stood in front of her stove angry and confused. Serena was troubled, trying to figure out how exactly to melt chocolate in a saucepan. She looked at the glass bowl her mother had told her to use.

"But what do I actually do?" Serena asked herself under her breath.

She settled for placing the glass bowl in the sauce pan and turning up the heat. As the pan heated the bowl, Serena reached for her plastic measuring cup, using her sink faucet to measure out ¾ cup of cold water.

"Cold water boils faster!" Serena paused. That was what Lita had said... wasn't it? Or was it hot water?

She decided it didn't really matter. She whistled the tune to _Let it Snow_ as she poured the water into the heated glass bowl. "And now I dump the chocolate chips into the water."

It was at this moment that Serena's father walked into the kitchen for a snack. He caught a glance of his teenaged daughter emptying an entire bag of semi-sweet chocolate chips into the bowl, and his eyes widened. "What are you making that requires chocolate in water?"

"Peppermint bark!" Serena announced proudly. She stirred her concoction together, oblivious to her dad shaking his head with disbelief. "I'm melting chocolate. You know, just like how mom makes every year?"

Darien would never guess that _she_ had made him sweets. Darien would be proven wrong about how she could never cook to save her life. Someday, she would make a man fat with her amazing cooking, she was sure of it.

"I remember your mom putting water in the pan and then melting the chocolate in a bowl over it…"

Serena looked down at her boiling chocolate, now a watery sauce with no potential for anything except pudding. She breathed, "Oh."

She dropped her spatula into the hot bowl, feeling overwhelmed. She always did this, she thought sadly. Somehow, Serena had a knack for messing up even the simplest of things. It just figured that Darien thought so little of her, she really could never do anything right.

Serena didn't know why his opinion mattered so much to her, but it did.

Her dad watched her with concern. When Ken noticed the tears building in his little girl's eyes, he intervened, pulling oven mitts off the wall with the mission to help her make the perfect peppermint bark. " Grab another bowl, sweetheart."

He was quick, retrieving the old bowl with the burning chocolate syrup out of the pan. He had a fresh batch of water beginning to boil by the time that Serena had found a second bag of chocolate chips.

"Thanks, daddy." She was grateful, and hugged him to show him so. The tears that had threatened to spill over before had all but dissipated.

"Of course, sweetheart." He placed the bowl over the bubbling water and handed her a new rubber spatula. "Stir this while I line a pan okay?"

"Okay!" She happily returned to the simple task of stirring chocolate. She turned her head, trying to look back at Ken, who was bent over trying to find a 9 by 13 inch baking dish in the mess of their cabinets. "Darien won't know what hit him when he tries our family recipe!"

Ken stopped, looking back at her. "Is Darien your boyfriend?"

Serena laughed. "He wishes he could date someone as amazing as me, or he would... if he wasn't such a jerk!"

Ken sighed with relief. He covered his baking dish with aluminum foil, and then returned to Serena's side.

"So, why am I helping you make him peppermint bark if he's such a jerk?"

He was genuinely curious. Ken didn't have as much time as he liked to really know what was going on in Serena and Sammy's life all the time. The last time Serena and Ken talked about boys, she was complaining about how annoying Melvin was. He wiped his glasses when the steam from the water fogged his lenses. Serena reached up to the cupboard above the stove, using her fingers to wiggle a bottle of peppermint extract closer to the edge so she could grab it with her hands.

Ken held the hot bowl with his oven mitts, patiently waiting for Serena to measure out ¾ a teaspoon of peppermint extract to add to the melted chocolate.

"I pulled his name for Secret Santa, and I'm going to prove with my gifts that I am so much better than he makes me out to be. I know I can get good grades and cook. I've just never really cared to try before."

The confession startled Ken. His little girl admitted to wanting to be a better version of herself for a boy. "Serena, you don't have to change to please this Darien guy. You'll find a guy who loves you for who you are."

After pouring the chocolate into the aluminum covered pan, they repeated the process with a bag of white chocolate.

Serena rolled her eyes. "Dad, I don't care about pleasing him. I care about proving him wrong."

She unwrapped four candy canes from their wrappers, ready to deal some of her irritance towards her father at them by crushing them into dust.

"Sounds to me like you have a crush on this boy." He continued to melt the white chocolate, adding more morsels into the bowl as he went.

Serena reached for a hammer, nearly forgetting to add the candy canes to a ziploc bag. Unbeknownst to her dad, she gritted her teeth. "Dad, can we stop talking about Jerkwad and make these candy bars already?"

"That wasn't denial."

Serena slammed her hammer down onto the candy cane filled bag, banging the canes again and again. After a few minutes of beating the canes into oblivion, they were nothing but tiny chunks of peppermint and powder.

"I DON'T LIKE DARIEN LIKE THAT!"

Ken stirred another ¾ peppermint extract into the white chocolate, staring at his daughter blankly. "Right…because _that_ response makes me believe you."

...

A black feather fell from the sky, gliding down to the soft, powdery snow. Phobos and Deimos flew over the white grounds, landing gracefully onto Raye's shoulder. Raye turned her head, smiling as the friendly crows nuzzled their black beaks into her hair.

When her feathered friends took off for the skies once more, Raye returned to her task. She briskly swept her wooden broom back and forth, pushing the wet snow off the temple steps. It occurred to her that using a shovel might be easier, but laziness overcame her, and she chose not to grab one from the storage shed. She was almost done anyways.

Raye felt relief beyond words when she finally reached the bottom steps. Even in her thick red and white priestess robes, the poor girl felt as if she were a frozen icecube. Thrilled to be finished with the time-consuming chore, she turned once more to walk up the stairs. Nothing seemed more appealing to her than the warm fire and fuzzy blankets in her home.

So, she was completely unsuspecting when Darien, who had been waiting for her to finish from the street, tapped on her shoulder.

"AHHH!" Raye shrieked, jumping into the air from surprise.

Darien jumped back himself, just as afraid as she was. Her reaction was uncalled for!

"Darien! You can't just sneak up on someone like that!" She glared at him, unnerved. "You could give someone a heart attack and kill them."

"I'm sorry, Raye." He really was. Darien didn't think that her crazy would come rearing because he wanted to say hello. "I just happened to be passing by, and decided to visit when I saw you."

Raye perked up at this, her violet eyes overwhelmed with joy. Raye liked Darien very much, so this impromptu visit gave her hope that maybe he liked her too. They had dated of course, but he never really showed as much interest in her as she did in him. Was this her chance to win him over? "That's so sweet, Darien! Would you like to come in for a cup of hot cocoa?"

Darien politely vetoed the idea, "I'm not much for hot cocoa. You know that about me. In fact, you know more about me than most people do."

How was he supposed to know that his words were making Raye's heart beat faster than usual?

"Really?" Raye asked, giddy and excited. "Oh, Darien! Knowing that makes me so happy!"

"I have never shared my address with anyone besides you and Andrew." Now that Darien had led the conversation where he wanted it to, he continued to try and weasel a confession out of her. "So, you must be my Secret Santa, right?"

Raye's heart fell out of her chest. Was Darien actually serious right now? This was why he wanted to see her? "If your name is Amy, then yes."

But Darien was insistent. "Andrew didn't leave me a romantic red rose. He isn't in love with me or have feelings like that for me like-"

Raye started running back to the temple, angry with Darien for what he was implying. It's not as if she fawned over him whenever he was near!

"Hey, where are you going?" Darien called after her. He didn't understand how everything had gone so wrong. She had to be his Secret Santa! There was no one else who knew where he lived.

Raye paused, clenching her fists together, frustrated. How dare he try to take advantage of her feelings for him to try and make her confess to whether or not she had given him a present! It was a low blow even for Darien to get her hopes up like that.

"Just leave me alone, Darien!"

Darien was starting to get a feeling that somewhere he might have crossed a line.

Well, at least he knew she wasn't his Secret Santa. Though, he should probably leave her alone for at least a little while. She seemed hopping mad for some reason.

Shaking in his coat, Darien walked towards his car. When he said he just happened to be passing by, what he really meant was he drove out of his way to see her after work. He should've been home half an hour ago!

He draped his seat belt over his chest and waist, ready to go home. With a twist of the key, his ignition purred softly, and he pulled out of his parking space onto the road.

What was Serena doing right now?

Darien couldn't help but wonder. She had no idea that he was her Secret Santa, and she was probably anticipating that it was one of the girls. Or her beloved Andrew. He grimaced at the thought.

While Darien had searched the stores for the perfect gift when he found out she was his giftee, Darien found he was unable to find anything that suited her. He wanted to find her something nice to wear, but realized he didn't know her size. He considered jewelry, but then again, he found himself in a similar dilemma. What if he picked a gem she didn't like or she was allergic to sterling silver or gold?

It was then that Darien realized that he needed to get to know his meatball head a little better.

"Not that I think of her as mine." Darien argued with himself. "As if she'd ever want to go out with me."

Darien found Serena beautiful, loving, and incredibly hilarious. Whenever he was around her, Darien always found a reason to smile. He wanted that to reflect in his gift to her.

Serena had to know how meaningful she was in his life.

It wasn't long before he was entering the apartment complex, lost in his thoughts of a certain spitfire who inhaled pizza and milkshakes like a tornado that gobbled up houses and livestock.

"Hey, Darien!" The doorman in the hall waved the distracted man over. "Someone left this for you."

He handed over a brown paperbag with a construction paper Santa glued to it. Darien took it, opening the bag and peaking inside. Filled to the top were chocolate candies with peppermint. A note poked out from under a piece of bark.

"_Something Sweet For My Giftee!_

_-Your Secret Santa"_

Darien's face lifted up with excitement when he came to a sudden realization.

"It's Lita!"

_Oh geez! Do you think Darien will ever get a clue? Lol! -Natasha_


	5. Candy Cane

_Hello all! I'm sorry to say that I have not been updating, but I'm full of good exc- *Cough* I mean reasons! Due to a certain lovey's work schedule, we are celebrating the Christmas festivities this week and not next week. So, with my little girls and darling husband, I have been decorating our home, and getting it ready for an early Christmas. Not to mention Christmas gift shopping, visiting family, and setting up my daughters' big gift, their bunk bed! So, if anyone else is like me and celebrating this week and not next week, HAPPY CHRISTMAS!- Natasha_

**Chapter 5**

Lita picked up a pre-packaged bag of coconut palm sugar. Eyeing the small crystallites, she considered whether they had the potential to make even the sweetest, but most junkiest goodies healthier. She laughed at her doubt. Of course they did!

She plopped the bag into her small carry basket, making the plastic container even heavier in her hands. Had Lita planned properly, she would have gone with a cart. But alas, she had _only _needed flour. And then chocolate chips, and popcorn for stringing her tree, and then holiday themed cookie cutters, and so on until there was no space left.

Lita already had put together most of her gift for Raye. She very carefully made her choices at the 100 Yen Shop, collecting a large plastic basket to place her goodies in, not to mention seaweed chips, sweet candies, microwavable popcorn, and delectable, canned soda pops. At the mall when the girls went their separate ways, Lita went straight for manga, and picked up the latest Sailor V comic books. Then a mock fleece blanket for her to keep warm in while she read them. Finally the only thing Lita needed was to create more sweets for Raye to snack on. Which lead her to shopping for the ingredients for freshly baked fudge brownies.

Lita wandered down another aisle, finding plastic bags covered in white snowflakes and snowmen with silver foil ties. Both decorative and useful, Lita knew that they would be just right for packaging her baked goods for the gift basket. "These will be perfect!"

Absorbed in her mindless shopping, Lita didn't notice the all too familiar gentleman peeking at her from an aisle end cap. When she turned to look at the cupcake holders decorated in mistletoe, Darien retreated back to the full end cap, keeping out of sight.

He needed evidence of her gift giving before he approached her. For the baking queen to just utter his name or to pick up something to do with peppermint bark. He needed a reason to know for sure that she was his Secret Santa. Lita knew how to do Karate, therefore he lacked desire to accidentally upset her. Not to say he that he had meant to upset Raye, he still didn't know where he went wrong there!

But she had only picked up chocolate chips, and hadn't mentioned him once. She never even looked at the candy canes or peppermint candies! Still Darien remained insistent on watching her. 'Maybe she'll look at an Axe razor or something!' he justified in his mind, careful not to utter a word for fear she might hear him.

Darien guided his eyes towards the unsuspecting female. He noticed a flash of pink when her ponytail swished down as she knelt to look at a can of frosting.

"The ingredients in here are awful, I oughta just make my own."

Of course Lita was his Secret Santa! All the evidence pointed to her! Not only was she an amazing baker, that is if Serena's puffed up chipmunk cheeks full of her homemade cupcakes were of any indication, but she was wearing rose earrings!

"AHA!" Darien yelled, jumping into the aisle and pointing at Lita. "_YOU_ ARE MY SECRET SANTA!"

Lita, who dropped her basket in fright, knocked her forehead on the sharp edge of the metal shelving. She cradled her gashed forehead in her hand, unable to stop herself from crying out, "Son of a bi-!"

"Don't try to deny it. I saw your earrings, it's obvious you left the rose at my door! Not to mention you made the peppermint bark, and paid for my coffee! Who else would have thought of such domestic gifts like a doting wife would?"

She waited for Darien to apologize or to help her up. All of her shopping choices surrounded her, making the floor look like it would if a toddler had dumped all the toy baskets in their room on the carpet. When it was very clear that he was too preoccupied in his discovery to lend her a hand, she asked,"Are you implying only a woman could come up with those gifts?"

"Exactly!" Darien smiled, not realizing his mistake, all the while letting his pearly whites shine. Lita rolled up the green sleeves of her Rudolph sweater, and the little bells she had sewn to his neck jingled. Before Darien realized what was going on, Lita lifted her empty basket, and hit him over the head with it.

"You." Lita gritted her teeth.

"Oww!"

"Sexist." She hit him again, square on the shoulder this time.

"What'd you do that-" Darien cringed when Lita hit him for the third time.

"Bastard!"

…

Serena sucked on a tiny candy cane dangling from her mouth, walking out the grocery store with her hands full of candies and chocolate chips. Ever since taking the first bite of her peppermint bark, she realized that she needed at least ten more pounds of the candy just for herself, prompting an emergency visit to clear out the candy cane shelf before someone else got the chance.

The soft crunching of her boots stepping in snow and the squeaking of rusty shopping carts full of baked goodies wafting vanilla and chocolate scents reminded her of Lita's homemade cookies. Serena stopped in front of the store entryway, picturing the scene. By now, Lita should be at her stove top melting chocolate for homemade ganache to put over peanut butter cookies. Serena could imagine Lita wearing her pink and lacy frilled apron, her hands covered in oven mitts, and the flour that would stain her friend's cheeks. Not to mention the cinnamon scent emanating from the red candles.

She lifted her paper bags up to her nose, sniffing the peppermint from the candy canes, and wondered what Darien thought of her and her dad's homemade peppermint bark.

"AND I'M NOT YOUR SECRET SANTA!"

"AAHHH!"

Serena turned to see what all the commotion behind her was about. However, the only thing she got to see was Darien's ugly pea green jacket falling into her face. She tumbled backwards into the snow with Darien falling on top of her.

Her cheeks reddened immediately.

Darien halted, looking into Serena's eyes, and wondered to himself how she got so beautiful. He resisted the urge to brush her hair behind her ears. And then she yelled, "Get off of me!"

She shoved him, trying to get his weight off of her body so she could help herself out of the wet snow. Darien took the hint, standing up, and reached out for her small hand.

Serena took his hand, but glared at him the entire time. "You fell on me on purpose!"

Darien stared at her incredulously. "You think that I purposely let Lita push me into the parking lot so I would purposely fall on you?"

It did seem pretty far-fetched. She couldn't deny that, but at the same time…

"Obviously!" She had to come up with a case. Then Serena thought of one. "You are always arriving to the arcade when I'm late to school on purpose too!"

And although she hated to admit it, that little truth secretly made her happy for some reason. Serena felt special that he took that time to bump into her everyday.

"Christmas makes you crazy, Serena." It wasn't down right denial, Serena noted happily. She frowned. Just why did she care so much?

"Or maybe you just need to have more Christmas spirit like Andrew and I!"

Darien chuckled. "You used proper grammar."

"Just shut up and help me pick up my groceries!" Serena looked around for Lita, but she was nowhere near. Lita was probably gathering groceries again and hadn't even noticed her. Lita kind of had a one train thought this time of year.

Darien picked up one of the paper bags and reached for a box of candy canes from the twenty on the ground. He noticed there was an awful lot of them in the bag too. He noted the white chocolate and milk chocolate chips Serena was shoveling into one of her bags.

"This sure is a lot of candy...what did you buy out the store so kids couldn't have any this year?" He asked, trying to explain away this coincidence.

Serena glared at him. "No. I just bought some to make stuff for my family."

"As if." He handed Serena the bag full of candy canes he picked up. "You'd probably burn the house down microwaving a hot pocket. I bet you bought all this so then you could go home and eat it while you cry about how the closest thing you have to a boyfriend is Melvin."

Serena's face contorted into anger. "YOU KNOW WHA- One. Two. Three."

She had nearly forgotten about ignoring his _little_ comments, and being nice.

Darien felt annoyed when Serena didn't finish yelling at him. She was taking the fun out of their game by not fighting back all the way. He wanted to see her blue eyes enraged as she yelled at him, moving her pink, kissable lips up and down as she yelled his name in frustration.

Instead, she opened a box of the sweets she purchased, pulling one from its paper box anchor. "Darien, I'm calling a truce tonight." She handed him the candy cane. She noticed his surprise and couldn't help but like how helpless he looked at her choice to not engage anymore. "You know... you kinda look cute when you're confused."

She wrapped her arms tighter around her bags, and walked away. But as she turned around Serena blushed. She couldn't believe that the words actually slipped from her lips! Did she actually say that out loud?

When she was out of eyesight, Darien allowed himself to feel everything his body was going through. The flips in his stomach, his heart racing, and his mind replaying the scene over and over. Serena had said the words so endearingly...like she meant it.

"She thinks I'm cute!"

It was the first time since the first gift that Darien had forgotten all about his Secret Santa.

_If you enjoyed this chapter, please review and let me know! I love reading your reviews and getting feedback! Thank you, everybody! -Natasha_


	6. Snow Globe

_This is the time of the year that I choose to go through everything I own and donate all the things my family no longer uses. I actually do this on a quarterly basis every year. We purge old dishes, toys, clothing, linens, foods, and medicines among other things that we no longer use. Anything that is especially nice will go to my niece or to friends who are having children. I think it's important to do this, especially around the holidays so we have space to enjoy our home and the things that we do love. We can finish old projects and reevaluate what truly matters to us. Do you do these things? Are there spaces in your home you are embarrassed by or that you are especially proud of? Tell me about it! -Natasha_

**Chapter 6**

His mother was stupid. That was the only conclusion Sammy could come up with for why his mother would insist that he and his lame sister, Serena, had to spend the morning together to come up with a nice Christmas gift. He really didn't see what was wrong with how they spent their Christmas allowance for them every year.

Sammy always took his money and spent about ten percent of it on each parent. That was equivalent to a card and coffee mug. He would diligently steal hot chocolate mixes and marshmallows from the kitchen to add to them, not to mention a candy cane each, which he would pluck from the decorated tree. The rest of the money he would pocket, along with about fifty percent of what he would get to spend on Serena. If he didn't actually try with Serena then his sister would cry hysterically about how he broke the tradition of him buying her stuffed bunnies since he was two years old. It was annoying, and he didn't mind spending a few extra bucks to keep her quiet.

So, why was his mother so upset by the tradition? He didn't get it. After all, it was just Christmas gifts.

Tragically, Sammy found himself sitting in the middle of the pink and girly room his sister typically inhabited. With rows of shelves filled with stuffed animals and the cosmetics adorning her vanity, disorganized and spilling onto the floor, there was no doubt Serena lived in here. He cringed, longing for his tidy and kempt room. But he was trapped in here thanks to the evil woman who called herself mom.

" A real mom wouldn't torture me like this," Sammy grumbled under his breath, patiently waiting for his sister to finish digging from the depths of her closet.

A pair of lacy panties landed on Sammy's head as Serena pulled out a pair of pants and tossed that behind her as well. "No. No. No!"

"Serena, what are you looking for?" Sammy asked, using a pair of used chopsticks to pick the panties off his head in a slow, but careful fashion.

"Mason jars!" She said it like it was a no brainer. Obviously Sammy wasn't paying attention or he just didn't care about their Christmas gift for Mom and Dad as much as she did. Obviously, you needed mason jars to accomplish that THIS year.

"Right...and we need those because…?" Sammy drawled his words to get his sarcastic tone across more clearly.

Serena just threw her hands in the air. "How else are we supposed to make homemade snow globes?"

"Homemade... snow... globes?" Sammy asked, now slightly interested in her project idea.

"Well, all we will need is fake snow, and glitter, and Christmas ornaments, a Mason jar, and glycerin, and hot glue!" She swiped a finger down for each ingredient listed, acting as though these were all things they should have in her closet.

"And you probably need a dead mouse too, right?" Sammy laughed. "Cause, if you have all that random stuff with your clothes, something had to have died in there…"

Serena gave him the look of death. Her closet wasn't _that_ full! "Ha ha. You are _so_ hilarious."

"I know." Sammy said proudly. "Now, let's get those ingredients."

…

"Andrew, she said that I was cute! Serena said I was cute when I look confused!"

It was all Andrew could do to not hit Darien up the head and yell at him to snap out of it. "I know, you've been telling me for the last hour!"

Darien couldn't stop smiling. His jaw was beginning to hurt. "But what do you think she means?"

Andrew slammed the rag in his hand on the counter, and scrubbed roughly. "Maybe that she thinks your cute?"

"Or maybe that she's in love with me, and wants to get married and have a daughter named after her, and we'll live happily ever after and be the King and Queen of Earth together!"

"Or maybe that will never happen and you're just obsessed!" Andrew sighed at his friend who just so happened to be spacing out, imagining his hypothetical future with Serena. "This is just like Secret Santa all over again except now it's over Serena."

"I wasn't obsessed over who my Secret Santa was."

Andrew's eyes widened. "Lita beat you up with a shopping basket because you were harassing her!"

"Now that, is an over exaggeration; I would never harass anyone over Christmas presents."

…

Serena dragged Sammy into yet another craft store, hunting for the materials needed to make their snow globes. Sammy sighed with exasperation when Serena stopped in front of fake snow again. "Serena this is like the fourth section of fake snow we've looked at today and it all looks exactly the same!"

"No, that's not true." Serena pointed to a bag of snow. "This one is less cream colored than the bag at the last store."

Sammy looked like he was about to explode. "THERE IS ABSOLUTELY NO DIFFERENCE!"

"Wow. You need to calm down!" Serena grabbed the bag from the shelf and headed towards the cash registers. "What was in your hot cocoa this morning?"

"Marshmallows?"

"Hm… Well, if you don't change your attitude, people will think those marshmallows were snowman poop."

Serena happily checked out while Sammy stood confused by his sister's comment. Why did she have to be so weird?

…

"I have to talk to her about this. If she wants to start calling me cute, she's going to have to explain herself." Darien furrowed his brows, troubled by his decision. He looked up at Andrew who was resisting slamming his forehead against the ice cream dispenser. "But I need to ask her now. What if she does feel that way about me and I miss my chance because I didn't ask her within the hour?"

Andrew took a deep breath. If only there was a way to end this conversation.

Then realization hit him. He reached for his notepad and pen for taking orders and scrawled Serena's information on it. "You're right, here's her home address. Why don't you just visit her and talk to her about it? Maybe you two will get together and I can work in peace instead of listening to you two fight all the time!"

Darien looked at the receipt with Serena's address like he was a kid on Christmas morning. "Andrew, you're brilliant!

_Short, simple, but fun. -A little peak of what's to come. -Natasha_


	7. Nickname

_Happy New Years, everybody! I just wanted to say that, yes, I will finish this fic even though Christmas is over! No worries! If you wonder why I haven't updated in a while, I have begun posting in my wordpress blog again, which you can find on my fanfic profile. I keep an up to date what's going on in my personal life in case you wonder why I haven't updated in a while. I want to thank everyone who reviewed chapter 6! Thank you! I can only hope and wish that everyone enjoys chapter 7 just as much! -Natasha_

**Chapter 7**

It was simple, Darien thought to himself oh so cunningly. He looked at the receipt in his hand, eagerly reading the house number. He scanned each house on the street until finally his eyes landed on a two story home, white with an ugly orange roof. All he had to do was knock on the door. Serena would answer, and he would flat out ask, "You're in love with me, aren't you, Meatball Head?"

Of course Serena would bring her hands up to her cheeks, covering the obvious blushing as she admitted her devotion to him. She of course would beg to carry his children and get married in that instant! They were in love with each other. He just knew this was true. Nothing could go wrong.

Nothing at all.

...

Sitting at the Tsukino household table was a very happy Ken. In front of the man sat a bowl decorated with Christmas candy canes that his daughter had painted him last year for his Christmas gift. Inside this bowl a pile of his and his daughter's homemade peppermint bark begged for his hands to reach out and touch them.

"Just one bite," whispered one of the pieces of chocolate. "I won't make you fat."

Ken looked down at the candy from his newspaper. "Your cousin said that last Christmas."

"He was lying, I'm not," The candy protested. "Besides, Serena will be so sad if you don't eat me. You made me together!"

Ken shook his head, bested by the bowl of treats. They were right, and besides, it only took him four months to burn off last year's cookie and candy haul. "Okay, you win, but just _one_ chunk…"

He reached a hand into the bowl, feeling around for the biggest piece of bark. He whispered at his chosen piece, "You little vixen!"

As Ken bit into the candy, a woman with blue hair walked into the kitchen, clasping a hand on the refrigerator door, giggling. "Talking to the candy again? Don't worry, I'll still love you even if you gain twenty pounds like last year!"

Ken chewed up his moderate portion and scowled. "It wasn't twenty pounds."

His wife grabbed an apple off the top shelf of the fridge. She turned to him and asked with a coy smile, "Then how many pounds was it?"

A knock at their front entryway interrupted their conversation. Ken quickly jumped up to open the door, glad to escape from Ikuko's incessant interrogation of last year's weight gain. He really didn't want to tell her it was twenty-five pounds!

When he opened the door, Ken was surprised to see a tall young man with black hair standing on his porch. He scanned his outfit, and was unable to stop himself from cringing at the green blazer the boy had chosen to adorn himself with. It looked like the same color as something a newborn baby's diaper might contain.

"Hello?" Ken asked. He still didn't recognize the gentleman looking back at him, whose panic written all over his face. "Can I help you with something?"

"Y-y-yeah, is um… Does Serena Tsukino live here?" The boy stammered, kneading his fingers into his pants pocket.

No! It couldn't be! Ken felt as if he was dying at the thought of his baby girl having a male visitor arriving to their family home, and not to mention the fact that it wasn't even Melvin! Was this person trying to steal her away when she was so young? Was he asking for Ken's permission for marriage?

"It depends on who you are." Ken responded finally, his once lighter tone of voice replaced for one much colder. "And what exactly you want."

"My name is Darien, and um...well…" Darien couldn't think of what to say. Serena's father answering the door completely blindsighted him. He had never even considered Serena's dad answering the door a possibility. Now he was trapped talking to his future father-in-law before having the chance to prepare for it. Cause she would marry him, right? There wasn't a doubt, he just had to speak to her this instant!

He needed a new plan. 'Come on, improvise!' he all but screamed at himself. He needed a new strategy.

Yes!

"Well, Mr. Tsukino, sir, I was hoping that if I visited her and got to know her a little better I could pick her out a nice Christmas gift...You see, I drew her name to be her Secret Santa this year, and I don't want to ruin her Christmas by buying her a planted pot when she'd rather have something less...er...lively?"

Ken eased his mind. It was only the guy that Serena believed she hated. As long as Serena continued to think that way, Darien's presence should be annoying to her, right? It's not as if Darien actually liked his little girl.

He had to get a jab in just in case, "You mean you are the jerkwad I keep hearing about?"

It didn't have the effect he wanted.

Darien's eyes grew all big and bubbly as he asked, "You mean, she talks about me at home?"

Darien's emotions all but skyrocketed into happiness and joy. She _was_ in love with him! She even had a nickname for him that she used at home. Well...and at the arcade when she was yelling at him, or talking to him, or accidentally throwing shoes or test papers at his head. But none of that mattered. All that matters is even her Dad knew who he was!

Ken exhaled all his oxygen, exasperated by the situation, and a small fog formed where his hot breath landed. Icy flurries landed in small puffs on Darien's hair and shoulders, a sudden snow storm appearing as if from nowhere. The fates weren't on his side today.

"Just come in before you get frostbite, but let's just get to know each other for a bit before you see Serena. I'll even let you have some peppermint bark she and I made." He moved to the side, waving his hand into his home, inviting Darien in.

Darien's eyes widened once more, he looked from side to side in the house, looking for any sign of burned curtains or demolished dishes on the floor. "You mean she cooked something without destroying the house?"

Ken chuckled under his breath. "She _did_ have my help."

"Still, knowing meatball head, you would be burned somewhere!" Darien exclaimed, brushing the snow off his hair and shoulders. He removed his shoes, and when he looked up, Ken was showing him his arm. There was a red blemish about a foot long all the way down to his wrist. Hair was missing.

"She might've dropped an entire bowl of melted chocolate on my arm instead of in the pan one time…" But that was his little girl, and it's not like it was intentional. Serena certainly didn't mean to trip over her feet and hit her head against the island of the kitchen, letting the glass bowl fly. She didn't mean for the white chocolate to melt his hair off and for it to cover the kitchen floor and island. And she really didn't mean to have broken glass shards fall on her own head! Perhaps they had made too many batches last night when she came home from the grocery store. It was nearly three am when the incident happened. "but that's what happens when you're tired and klutzy!"

Darien bit his lip. "That looks like it really hurts…"

"It did at first, but it's really not that bad. She didn't even burn off much skin. Just the top layer.I'm sure whoever marries my little girl would have to get used to this kind of stuff, huh?" Ken invited Darien to sit at the table so he could return to his newspaper while they talked. He smirked when Darien continued to stare at his arm with horror written all over his face.

"Yeah...The poor bastard." Darien whimpered pitifully at the thought.

…

Serena showed Sammy her finished snowglobe. Using her glue earlier, she had stuck a Santa in his sleigh at the bottom of her large, but round mason jar used usually for jams. There were reindeer attached to the sleigh. She also added a snowy house decoration to be on the side of it, and an old plastic toy tree that used to go with one of Sammy's Jungle Safari sets. She shook the jar up, and showed Sammy how the fake snow floated down slowly, just like real snow globes do.

"Isn't it adorable? Mom and Dad are gonna love it, especially when paired with this pretty homemade Christmas card!" She flashed the card over her cheek with her other hand as she smiled with all her teeth showing. The card was simple, She cut a card shape from an old shoe box and painted it sky blue. She also used a small stencil to paint on white snowflakes. She added silver and white glitter to make the snowflakes shimmery, and glued a picture of their family in Christmas garb from last year for the center piece. Above the picture, matching blue and italic scrapbook letters wrote out _Happy Holidays! _

"So, how did you do, Sammy?"

Sammy shook up his plain old mason jar which originally held a snowman ornament and some plastic glitter, both of which he found at the 100 yen store. The snowman shattered upon shaking, and clumps of silver glitter floated at the top with the remnants of the snowman. He looked up at her sadly. "I don't know what I did wrong here?"

Serena gave him an 'Oh, honey!' look. "Well for starters you spent four hundred yen for all your materials, and you used an knock off Elmer's glue stick from the 100 yen store!"

"It's not the cost that matters!" Sammy yelled, bowing his head as he squeezed his eyes closed

Serena rolled her eyes. "You're right, it's the thought that counts."

"Exactly!" Sammy said. "It's the thought that counts. They'll know I tried really _really_ hard and they'll be thankful!"

Serena quirked a brow at his broken and gross looking globe. "Thankful to know you tried really hard to keep 44,100 yen in your pockets for junk food instead of doing something nice for them!"

Sammy took a step back, appalled by his sister's accusations. "How did you know I do that?!"

She looked at him sarcastically. "Really?"

Sammy slumped his shoulders. "Yeah...okay."

She pointed to her messy table. " Let's get to work and make some more, but you owe me some money, buster!"

"Fine."

Serena really didn't mind. She still hadn't finished the final touches on Darien's yet. Her polymer pieces were still baking in the oven.

But they really _should_ be done by now…

_Haha! I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter. I'm super excited to post more! Please tell me what you thought, and which parts you thought were the silliest or sweetest. -Natasha_


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